Ashburton Elementary School PRINCIPAL’S NEWS

Ashburton Elementary School
6314 Lone Oak Drive, Bethesda, MD 20817 * 301-571-6959
PRINCIPAL’S NEWS
November, 2014
Dear Parents/Guardians,
We had a wonderful Halloween celebration at Ashburton! We hope you had as much fun as the students
and enjoyed the Walter Johnson pep band during the parade. We think the new parade route allowed for
parents to really see the students as they marched by. I want to thank all of our families who came to last
Thursday’s Halloween parade and classroom parties. Thank you to our room parents for putting together
such great parties!
I would also like to thank all of the volunteers for an amazing Fall Festival! It takes hours of planning and
we thank the awesome team of Amelia Risner-Butera, Alicia Burgos, Mary Roberts, and Mariella Cacho
for coordinating it, the many parents who helped in a variety of ways, and the middle and high school
volunteers. We also thank Chris Calhoun for creating the Haunted Hallway—it was a huge hit! This is a
very successful event as both a fundraiser and a fun evening for Ashburton families.
October 31st marked the end of our first grading period and November 3rd began the second quarter. On
November 10th and 11th students will be released from school early so you can attend parent-teacher
conferences. You can expect to hear about your child’s specific learning progress and how well your child
is meeting grade level objectives. You will also have an opportunity to ask questions about your child and
the curriculum. Your child’s teacher will send a reminder regarding your conference time; please try to
honor it since the teachers have many back to back conferences. First quarter report cards will be sent
home on November 12th or handed out at the parent conference. Please remember that our parking lot is
closed to cars from 8:25 until 9:00 a.m. and from 2:45 until 3:25 p.m. if you come to school before or
after school for your conference. On the early dismissal days, the lot will reopen at 1:00 p.m.
Ashburton’s official MCPS enrollment as of September 30, 2014 is 891. The official enrollment does not
include our PEP Pilot students so we actually have about 905 students. We continue to enroll throughout
the school year and our trend in enrollment shows an increase each year.
The FY 2016 Capital Budget and the Recommended FY 2015–
2020 Capital Improvements Program was just released. It shows
that our addition is slated for completion in 2019 although the
Montgomery County Council approved a completion date of
2020. Additionally, the MCPS Department of Facilities is
recommending to expand our addition, which would possibly
include a third floor and increase the capacity of the school to
accommodate 881 students.
You may have heard some of Dr. Starr’s comments and rationale
regarding the need for more school capacity, especially as
elementary school enrollment continues to grow. Our cluster
coordinators will represent our schools with testimony to the
Board of Education this month on November 13th; parents are
welcome to attend in support of Ashburton. The Superintendent
Calendar
November 11-15- PTA Book Fair
November 10 & 11 Early Release,
Parent Conferences 12:35 p.m.,
November 11- Jump Rope for Heart
12:35-3:05 p.m.
November 11- Flu Mist Clinic 12:453:00 p.m.
November 12- Report Cards Distributed
November 18- Dine Out with Ashburton
at California Tortilla
November 26- Early Release, 12:35
p.m.
November 27-28- Thanksgiving
Holiday – No School
has recommended re-instating several projects to the original completion date, including Ashburton’s
proposed addition. Parents can help support the revised request by attending the testimony, writing letters
or visiting Council and State representatives. You can learn more about the capital budget approval
process from Board of Education approval to County Council funding in May on the MCPS website at
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/planning/cipmaster.aspx
The PTA will hold their annual Book Fair during the week of November 10-14. Classes will visit the
Book Fair so that children may see the offerings and purchase books. Parents are encouraged to visit
during the week or when they come for conferences.
Mr. Dartouzos will sponsor the Jump Rope for Heart program again this year, held on November 11th
from 12:35 to 3:05 p.m. Second grade through fifth grade students will participate in an active afternoon
as they increase their awareness to be physically fit and the need for cardiovascular research (although a
financial donation is not required to participate).
Attendance is critical to instruction in school. We have noticed that a number of children are late each day
and miss the beginning of their class work. I urge you to make it a priority to have a morning routine
where children have ample time to get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, and get to school on time. Using the
neighborhood school bus helps with the routine. Students are late if they arrive after 8:50 a.m., and must
stop at the office to sign in and get a late pass. Students who are habitually late miss important directions
and class work. Please note that the doors into the school from the back drop-off loop are closed at 8:50
a.m. and children who arrive after 8:50 a.m. will need to be brought to the front entrance and signed in at
the office. Parents will be notified when tardiness is excessive and will be asked to attend a conference to
discuss ways to resolve the problem. Please make every effort to limit the amount of school missed due to
appointments. Teachers plan instruction through 2:55 p.m. and students are responsible for work missed if
they are not in class.
I would like to thank you for your continuous support and partnership to help students achieve their very
best. I hope to see you at many of our November events and wish you and your family a Happy
Thanksgiving.
Sincerely,
Charlene Garran, Principal
Information from the Health Room:
It’s impossible to avoid the constant chatter about contagious diseases these days. To reduce the stress, it
is important to stay informed.
Don’t let the flu catch you by surprise! Influenza is more serious than you may think. Vaccination is the
single best way to protect against the flu and an annual flu vaccine is recommended for everyone 6
months and older. Nasal spray flu vaccine will be offered to Ashburton students at our annual flu clinic on
the afternoon of November 11. As of this writing, there are still a few slots remaining; call the Health
Room at 301-571-6959 to schedule an appointment for your child. For more information about the flu,
visit http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/flu.
Please read the letter sent home from Ashburton earlier this week for helpful information about Ebola
virus disease. Following the recommendations outlined there will help protect your own family and the
entire community, not only from potential risk of Ebola, but also from the many other contagious diseases
common this time of year. There are also links for resources from the CDC that are frequently updated
and can be relied on to provide accurate and current information.
Finally, remember these hints about staying healthy: get your family vaccinated against the flu; wash
hands frequently; cover your coughs and sneezes; avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth with
unwashed hands; clean and disinfect germ “hot spots” such as phones, doorknobs, light switches, faucets,
keyboards, remotes, iPads; contact your healthcare provider for advice if illness develops; and stay home
when you are sick.
.
Emergency Closing/Inclement Weather Information
Announcements about the closing of schools in Montgomery County, delayed opening or early
dismissal due to winter weather emergencies are available through a number of outlets:
 MCPS QuickNotes e-mail news service (subscribe at www.mcpsquicknotes.org)
Or schools-out.com
 Local radio and television stations – WMAL (AM-630), WTOP (AM-1500), MCPS
Cable Channel 34, NBC-4, Fox 5, ABC-7, CBS-9
 MCPS website www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org
 MCPS information telephone line at 301 279-3673
 ASK MCPS at 301 309-6277 (7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. M-F )
 Twitter: http://twitter.com/mcps
 Decisions to close or delay opening are usually made by 6:00 a.m.
 When school opening is delayed, it is usually by 2 hours, so that Ashburton opens at
10:50 a.m., with buses making their usual pick-ups 2 hours later than normal. There is
no PEP when we have a delayed opening.
 Decisions to close early are usually made by 11:00 a.m. An early dismissal usually
means Ashburton students leave the school around 12:30
Please do not call the school for weather related questions. Often the news outlets know of
decisions before we do.
Dress for the Weather: Please note that we send children outside for recess every day unless
we have inclement weather or it is below 32 degrees. Please make sure that your child is
dressed for going outside.
Please label your child’s clothing and lunchbox with his/her name as we accumulate numerous
items in the Lost and Found that are unmarked.
Child’s Name
Flu Vaccine: There are a few more appointment slots for the flu vaccine clinic on November 11, 2014,
at Ashburton Elementary School, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Only nasal spray flu vaccine (FluMist) will be available. Students will not be vaccinated unless they
are accompanied by a parent, guardian, or adult with a signed consent form. To sign up for an
appointment, please call the health room at 301-571-6959 or e-mail [email protected].
PEP Newsletter
Dear Families,
Our next theme is “Our Community”, which will
span the months of
November and December
due to the amount of days
we have off for holidays.
We will be learning about communities,
neighborhoods, diversity, community helpers,
recycling, and transportation. During the fourth
week of November we will also talk about
Thanksgiving and holiday travel.
Knowledge Focus:
Week 1:
Week 2:
Week 3:
Week 4:
Places We Go
People We Meet
Things That Move
Going Green!
Sample Vocabulary:
Apartments, block, building, community,
firehouse, hospital, library, neighborhood, park,
sidewalk, doctor, firefighter, librarian, mail
carrier, police officer, work, workers, vehicle,
transportation, safety, travel, traffic, passenger,
driver, recycle, Earth, protect, reduce, trash,
environment, reuse, Thanksgiving, celebration,
thankful, family, and feast.
Social-Emotional Focus:
Responsibility: Children learn about and
explore different roles and responsibilities they
have as part of their classroom community and
the community in which they live.
Math Focus:
Simple maps and position words
Comparing distances
Measurement words
Counting with 1:1 correspondence
Creating/Extending patterns
Matching numerals to 5
Using ordinal numbers
Reviewing shapes
Reading Focus:
Combining syllables into words
Segmenting syllables from words
Matching initial sounds
Story sequences
Book handling
Making predictions
Retelling a story
Extending a story
Using book information and story characters
Asking and answering questions
Using picture clues
Environmental print
Recommended Reading:
Fire Truck by Peter Sis
A Good Night Walk by Elisha Cooper
Carlo Likes Counting by Jessica Spanyol
Lola at the Library by Anna McQuinn
Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems
Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchins
Clifford’s Spring Clean-Up by Norman Bridwell
Big Earth, Little Me by Thom Wiley
ABC Drive! By Naomi Howland
The Cleanup Surprise by Christine Loomis
Dig Dig Digging by Margaret Mayo
I’m Your Bus by Marilyn Singer
Dot the Fire Dog by Lisa Desimini
I Want to Be a Police Officer by Dan Liebman
My Friend the Doctor by Joanna Cole
Corduroy Goes to the Doctor by Don Freeman
Going to the Doctor by Anne Civardi
All Around the Busy Town by Beth Breakstone
Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman
Choo Choo Clickety-Clack! by Margaret Mayo
I Love Trucks! by Philemon Sturges
Songs/Fingerplays:
Hurry, Hurry, Drive the Fire Truck
Down At the Firehouse
5 Little Turkeys
10 Little Firefighters
This is the way we Brush our Teeth (other
community helper actions)
10 Little Turkeys Sitting on a Gate
Possible Activities:
Match objects/tools and the community helpers
who use them (e.g., stethoscope – doctor,
mailbox – mail carrier, hose – firefighter, etc.)
Sequence pictures of community helpers doing
their jobs (ex. going to the doctor’s office or
building a house)
Play a jobs guessing game (actions like
hammering, kneading dough, etc.)
Play Post Office in our writing center
Pretend to drive to different places in the
community (identifying environmental print)
Pretend to play librarian in our classroom library
Sort vehicles: roads, air, water, and tracks
Practice stop, drop, & roll
Learn movement patterns (e.g. clap, stomp, clap,
stomp)
Build a community using blocks and toy
vehicles
Build a recycling center in our classroom!
Listen to different city sounds
Create community worker masks
Measure routes from point A to point B in the
classroom (e.g. circle to snack table)
Visit with a real firefighter!
Learn about light and shadows
Create individual
community books
Written language activity: “I
want to be a __________
when I grow up”.
Make a classroom or
community map with visuals
Cooking and Snack Ideas:
Fire Engine Cookies: Add red food coloring to
vanilla frosting and spread over a graham
cracker. Add mini Oreos for wheels, Chex
cereal for windows, yellow M&Ms for lights,
and pretzel sticks or licorice pieces to make a
ladder.
Apple “Smiles”: Take 2 slices of red apple and
spread peanut butter on one side of each apple
slice. Place mini marshmallows on top of the
peanut butter on one slice. Top with the other
apple slice, peanut butter side down. (Lips and
teeth!)
Canoe: slice of cantaloupe (canoe), vanilla
yogurt (spread on inside of canoe), grapes
(people sitting in canoe), pretzel sticks (oars)
Traffic light: Cover a small, rectangular graham
cracker with frosting or peanut butter, add red,
yellow, and green M&Ms for lights (red on top,
yellow in the middle, green on the bottom).
Suggestions for Home:
Take a walk around your community. Identify
locations in the community
(library, post office, grocery
store, etc.).
Let your child pretend to be a
dentist at home by brushing
his or her doll’s teeth (or if
you feel brave your teeth!)
Make a mailbox from a shoebox or empty cereal
box. Practice writing “letters” and putting them
in the mail box. (Try using real envelopes and
stickers for stamps). Then have your child
pretend to be a mail carrier and deliver the
letters to family members.
Have your child help carry a small bag of
garbage or recycling out to the trash can or
recycling bin. Help them sort by paper and
bottles.
Take a ride on the metro! Talk about the
different parts of the train (cars, tracks, engine,
etc.).
Reminders:
No school November 10th and 11th: Parent
conferences
No school November 26th, 27th, and 28th:
Thanksgiving
As always, please feel free to email us with
questions, concerns, good news, etc.
The PEP Team
November Happenings
In Kindergarten
Math
We will be continuing counting, numeration and
measurement. Students will match numerals to
sets of objects, and use objects to show greater
than, less than or equal to. We will be
comparing lengths as well as weights of objects.
Please make sure you are practicing the correct
formation of all of the numbers 0-20.
Science
This month we will continue to look at the
season of fall, and how the natural world around
us changes. We will be focusing on the basic
needs of living things, and will
be discussing the life cycle of
plants and animals. Your child
will be planting a seed and
watching it grow!
Social Studies
We will be focusing on physical features such as
landforms and bodies of water. We will
compare and contrast physical features with
human-made features.
In Writing, we will study how authors develop
ideas and include details about events. Students
will draw and write to describe familiar people,
places, things, and events. Students will
continue to spell simple words phonetically,
drawing on knowledge of letter-sound
relationships.
Reading
We will continue to ask and answer
questions about key details and unknown
words in a text and identify characters and
major events in a story. We will begin to
retell stories using key details and describe
the relationship between illustrations and the
story in which they appear. Students name
the author and illustrator in a text and
discuss the role of each in telling the story.
Students use their knowledge of event
sequence, characters, and the relationship
between text and images when they write
personal narratives in writing. Students work
on foundational skills such as, counting
syllables in spoken words. We will
recognize common types of text by
comparing narrative text to multiple poems
from the Junior Great Books Read Aloud
Dragon Series. Students use their listening
skills to confirm understanding of a text read
aloud by asking and answering questions
about key details from stories and poems.
*A special thank you to all of the parents
who came to help out with our Halloween
parties! It was a great day!*
-Kindergarten Team
First Grade News
October was a great month in the First
Grade!! The field trip to the National Zoo
was a huge success and an enjoyable
learning experience outside the classroom.
The Halloween Parade and class parties
were a blast and help to end the first quarter
of the year. Now that it is November, we
wanted to let you know what we will be
focusing on in all areas of the curriculum.
Reading: Students will continue bringing
home books to practice reading. First
Graders need to remember to return book
bags the very next day, so that they can
receive a new book!! This month, we will
read both fiction books to retell key details
and identify the central the message of a
story.
Writing:
First graders will begin researching for our
culture project. Students will work on using
conjunctions in their writing along with
using correct capitalization. We can’t wait
to see what wonderful writing they will do
this quarter.
Math: This month our focus will be on
place value, balancing equations
(understanding the meaning of the ‘equal’
sign, and addition/subtraction fluency.
Science: We will be investigating the
different types of materials that make up
various nonliving things (wood, plastic,
paper, metal, etc.). Our next focus will be on
motion and the ways that both non-living
things move.
Social Studies: Traditions and culture will
be on our instructional focus. We will be
learning about how people meet their needs
to live, work, and play. Students will apply
what they learn in social studies to research
and write an informational piece about how
people live, work, or play.
Parent-teacher conferences are on November
10th and 11th. Both of these days will be
half days for students.
Please also note that our annual Scholastic
Book Fair will be held during the week of
November 10th through November 14th.
Your child will have a chance to visit the
Book Fair in class, but you may also
accompany them before or after school that
week.
We are looking forward to another fantastic
month of learning in first grade.
Sincerely,
The First Grade Team
Town News from
Second Grade
First quarter flew by! October was a busy
month and we had a great time celebrating
Halloween at the end of it. Thank you to our
room parents who organized our Halloween
parties and to the parents who came in to
help out. We had a wonderful afternoon
thanks to your efforts!
In November, we’ll be continuing our study
of informational text in reading. We will be
focusing on how text features help us better
understand what we’re reading as well as
asking meaningful questions to learn more
about a topic. In our study of fiction, we will
be learning about folktales. We will discuss
point of view and problem and solution.
Please continue to encourage your child to
read for at least 15 minutes each night
(Monday through Thursday) during the
week.
In writing this month we will be focusing on
writing to inform. We’ll practice using
descriptive details to make our writing more
informative. Students will also work on
sentence fluency and organization of a
paper.
In math we will continue to practice
strategies to solve equations using mental
math. We will begin looking at odd and
even numbers as well as strategies to solve
multi-digit addition and subtraction
problems.
We will be learning about geography in
social studies. Students will be exploring
places on Earth including the equator, north
and south poles, continents, oceans and
countries using tools such as globes and
maps. We will be comparing different
geographic regions around the world and
discussing how basic human needs are met
in different geographic areas. We
will also begin our culture studies
of the Wampanoag and Pilgrims.
We will be comparing what daily
life was like for both groups.
Parent-teacher conferences will be held on
November 10th and 11th. Reminder notices will
be sent home soon if they haven’t been sent
already. If you have not signed up for a parentteacher conference to discuss your child’s
progress during the first quarter, please contact
your child’s teacher as soon as possible.
On November 19th we will be going to the
Music Center at Strathmore to see the National
Philharmonic. Be on the look-out for this
permission slip.
Happy November!
Ms. Ashin, Ms. Bouquet, Ms. Fox, Mrs. Holder,
Ms. Locke and Mrs. Murshed
News From Third Grade
We have had a very successful and productive
first quarter in third grade. The students have
learned their routines and we are getting a lot
accomplished in each of our classes. We’d like
you to continue to review school rules at home
with your children. Here is what you can expect
during the month of November.
Math:
In Math, students will be working with
multiplication and division. Students will be
solving for unknown factors, working on
multiplication facts, and solving multiplication
and division word problems. At home, we
encourage you to continue to practice facts. You
can also solve missing factor problems at
home. Students need to know addition and
subtraction facts readily. We will be practicing
multiplication facts in class.
Reading:
In Reading, students will learn about poetry and
plays this month. Students will be learning
about similes and metaphors in narrative poetry
as well as identifying the theme of a poem. They
will be comparing themes of narrative poetry as
well. Students will also be learning about the
parts of a play and identifying how characters
actions affect events. At home, you can support
your child by reading a variety of poems and
discussing the theme or lesson of each. You can
also take your family on a field trip to see a play
and discuss the different roles and
characters. Plays can also be viewed on the
internet or by video.
Writing:
In Writing, students will be review narrative
writing; both personal and story-telling during
the beginning of the month. Students will set
writing goals and reflect on how they can
achieve these goals. At the end of the month,
we will begin our inquiry project for Quarter 2
about changes in technology over time. At
home, we encourage children to write their own
poems and/or personal narratives and share them
with family and friends.
Social Studies:
In social studies, students will be learning about
physical and human features in Maryland and
throughout the United States. We will be
looking at and comparing the different regions
of these places as well. Students will also use
inference skills to determine where most people
will choose to live. At home, we encourage you
to identify physical and human features in your
neighborhood and town. Physical features
include lakes, mountains, forests, rivers,
etc. Human features include roads, houses,
buildings, restaurants, parks, etc.
Science:
In Science, students will learn about physical
changes in matter. Students will be exploring
what happens to different materials when they
are heated and cooled. They will also discuss
how properties of objects can be changed and
how difficult it may be to change some
properties.
Reminders:
Our first 3rd grade field trip will be November
13th, 2014 – we are excited
for all we will learn and
experience!
Thank you for your support
and dedication!
The Third Grade Team
News 4 You
We are hard at work in fourth grade! The
students are still adjusting to the new challenges
and responsibilities in fourth grade. Please
remind your children of the Ashburton
Expectations including respect everyone and
listen and follow directions. Many students
have made a smooth transition and are TQ Stars
everywhere, everyway, and everyday! Keep it
up!
Thank you to all of the parents who volunteered
for the SERC field trip. We are thankful that we
were able to reschedule one of the days and still
have so many parents who could adjust their
schedules and still come with us. We truly
appreciate your flexibility. None of our field
trips would be possible without your help and
support! We have two other field trips later in
the school year.
Students are taking home Friday Folders and TQ
charts at the end of every week. Please discuss
your child’s celebrations with them and help
them focus on the wonderful things that are
happening in school each and every day. Empty
Friday Folders are expected to be returned the
following Monday, along with the signed TQ
chart.
should be working on their basic fact recall by
studying their facts every night for at least FIVE
MINUTES. See Mrs. Brenner, Ms. Greco, or
Ms. Imhof if you need flash cards!
If you have yet to schedule a Parent/ Teacher
Conference or need to change the date/time you
signed up for, please contact your child’s
homeroom teacher as soon as possible. Please
arrive at your conference at the time scheduled,
as the conferences have back to back time slots.
We look forward to meeting with you soon!
Science: This month, students will continue
their study of environmental science. We will be
focusing on the changes that occur within
ecosystems. We will also dive
more deeply into our ONOW
project as we engineer water
collection tools and collect data
Here is what we will be covering for the month
of November:
Thank you,
Ms. Brenner, Ms. Burton, Ms. Greco, Ms.
Imhof, Ms. Leiser, Ms. Schultz and Ms. Weaver
Reading: This month focuses on our
measurement topic of Literature. Students will
learn about the elements of plays and poetry. We
will even act out plays for our classmates to see.
We will also continue with our Junior Great
Books series, a program for gifted learning.
Writing for Personal Expression: At the
beginning of the quarter, writing is connected to
reading. Students will explore various poems
and then will write several poems of their own.
Students will learn about figurative language,
using prepositions in poetry, and how to write a
narrative poem.
Social Studies: In social studies, students will
learn about economics. This month, students
will learn about regional specialization in
Maryland and interdependence. Students will
also study scarcity and
opportunity costs.
Mathematics: Fourth grade
students are starting their
work on multiplication
concepts. Students will use various strategies to
multiply 3- and 4-digit numbers by a 1-digit
number to find a product. Students will then
focus on finding the area and perimeter of
rectangles. We will finish off the month of
November by learning to convert between
different units of measure.
Students are reminded that it is best to study
basic facts on a daily basis. As students move
into their focus of multiplication, students
Fifth Grade’s Fabulous News
Marking Period 1 report cards will be handed
out and discussed at Parent-Teacher conferences
on November 10th and 11th. Your child’s
homeroom teacher will confirm your scheduled
date and time for your conference.
Here is what will be going on in the classrooms
in the month of November:
Math
The Compacted 5/6 Math students will begin the
new quarter with a new unit exploring ratios to
understand their meanings in context. They will
be translating words into ratios and ratios into
words. They will interpret and demonstrate
ratios, both in part-to-part and part-to-whole
comparisons, using various models. The
students will be determining which models are
most effective for representing particular ratios.
As they are developing stronger skills working
with ratios in general and identifying equivalent
ratios in particular, they also will be preparing to
tackle “real world” problems, in part, by using
unit rates to compare differing quantities.
Once comfortable with what ratios, rates, and
their representations mean, the students will be
analyzing ratios: interpreting data, using
equivalents, and finding missing data in rate and
ratio tables and other organized graphic
displays. They will be solving problems
involving speed, money, and other
measurements. Toward the end of the ratio and
rate unit, their work will return to fractions and
make the connections among ratios, fractions,
decimals, and percentages. With the
Thanksgiving holiday approaching, parents
should look forward to lots of assistance
calculating mileage rates, adjusting those
favorite recipes to accommodate all the guests,
and finding the best bargains at the grocery
store!
The Math 5 students will continue with their
math modeling work. The work is helping them
to explain the logic of math operations, to
recognize the relationships among math
operations, and to use the correct math
operations successfully in problem-solving,
rather than merely memorizing and executing
algorithms. This month, the students are
working with the division of 4 digit numbers by
two digit numbers with models and arrays,
reinforcing their prior work with such models
and expanding their facilities using and
explaining the division operation, in particular.
The students also are using their place value
skills and basic fact skills to estimate and find
quotients in division problems. After division,
we shall re-enter the world of fractions building
upon their prior years’ fraction work, identifying
and creating equivalent fractions, and adding
and subtracting fractions, using common
denominators.
We cannot emphasize enough how crucial it is
for the kids to practice math facts more so that
they can recite basic multiplication facts up to
12 x 12 and as well as their division facts
fluently. They hear the message from us
regularly, so we appreciate your reinforcing it at
home. We shall send home the math newsletter
with ideas for applying this month’s math work
out of school and provides some suggested web
links. Below are some great games for students
to use for math fact and multiplication practice.
Grand Prix Multiplication
http://www.arcademics.com/games/grand_prix/g
rand_prix.html
Math Baseball
http://www.funbrain.com/math/index.html
Penguin Jump Multiplication
http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/games/p
enguin-jump/penguin-jump.html
Math Magician
http://www.oswego.org/ocsdweb/games/mathmagician/cathymath.html
Math Frog
http://cemc2.math.uwaterloo.ca/mathfrog/englis
h/kidz/mult5.shtml
Reading
In reading, students just completed analyzing
roles and viewpoints of historical figures of the
Declaration of Independence using research
strategies such as synthesizing and making
inferences. Each student took on the viewpoint
of one of our famous founding fathers such as
Ben Franklin or John Adams. They presented
their individual perspectives to the class in a
presentation in a talk show format. As careful
listeners, students were required to analyze the
similarities and differences between the famous
historical figures.
At home consider having your child do the
following to extend his/her learning:
Read the biographies of Phyllis Wheatly and
Deborah Sampson and compare their
viewpoints.
Ask your child the following the questions:
 What role did each figure have during the
time period of the Revolutionary War?
 What is similar and different about the
contributions of the women?
 How do their points of view differ from the
founding fathers?
At the start of the second marking period, we
will switch our genre study back to fiction and
focus on traditional stories which includes
legends and myths. A traditional story is one
which has been passed down informally over
time, usually by word of mouth. We’ll then
focus on all things mysterious and
unexplainable! We will read the Mysteries of
Harris Burdick and the Invention of Hugo
Cabret.
At home consider having your child do the
following to extend his/her learning:
Read a book of myths such as Favorite Greek
Myths retold by Mary Pope Osbourne.
Ask your child the following questions:
 What culture is represented in the myth?
 What lesson is learned from the myth?
Writing
In marking period 2, fifth grade students will be
completing three writing assignments in the
following categories: narrative, informative, and
opinion. Our first assignment will be a narrative
piece related to the “traditional story genre.” The
students will analyze the characteristics of
pourquoi tales in order to craft their own. Our
second assignment will be an informative
piece. The students will identify a movement
that interests them for further study and
research. The movements from which they will
be able to choose are the Women’s Movement,
the Labor Movement, the Civil Rights
Movement, and the Movement for Health and
Safety. For their movement, students will
research and compose an informative writing
piece that explains how conflicts and
compromises among people in the United States
prompted changes in or by the government.
Throughout the month of November, students
will have time on the computer to research, they
will identify a conflict(s), and they will begin to
draft paragraphs describing actions taken to
resolve the conflict. In doing so, we will focus
on cause/effect relationships.
Science
The students have completed their collaborative
work designing amusement park rides. They
applied their understandings of force and motion
and the engineering process to use their
creativity and scientific knowledge to generate
ideas and to fine-tune their rides, as their
understandings grew. In writing, the students
became experts on the energy sources that
currently provide power to us and those that may
do so more or less in the future. Now, the
students are shifting their focus to exploring how
those energy sources actually become the power
behind the many electrified necessities and
luxuries we enjoy. They are beginning by
studying static electricity, something they
recognize when they see a spark or feel a shock.
As we explore electricity, they will be able to
describe and explain how electricity is produced
and the forces it may exert, sometimes without
even touching an object.
Next, we shall extend our explorations to current
electricity and the students will experiment with
materials to determine how to create a closed
circuit to permit electrons to flow. They will
troubleshoot problems with nonworking circuits.
They also will explore what materials slow the
movement of electrons and thus work as
insulators, as opposed to those that permit the
easy movement of electrons, as conductors.
Finally, they will explore different forms of
circuits to identify the differences between series
and parallel circuits. While we warn strongly
against doing electricity experiments on their
own, you should be prepared for the kids to be
more curious about electricity and its
magnificent powers at home.
Social Studies
In social studies, students will be learning about
the effects of the American Revolution, and
conflicts and changes in the United States
government. Students will be analyzing the
Articles of Confederation, and will focus on the
conflicts associated with the Articles. Next,
students will focus on the Constitutional
Convention and discuss examples of conflicts
and compromise among differing groups of
people. Finally, students will identify and
summarize how democratic principles
influenced our founding document – The United
States Constitution
Additional readings/activities:
Articles of Confederation game and information
about problems during the time period:
http://www.history.org/history/teaching/eft/samp
le_more_perfect/activity1/index.cfm
Working to make the Constitution:
https://www.docsoffreedom.org/readings/theconstitution
Founders of the Constitution:
http://mrnussbaum.com/constitution/founders
Gifted and Talented News
-Ms. Kathy Weigle
Montgomery College Youth Programs is
sponsoring 3 programs this fall - Kids’ College,
Builders of the Future, and Global Children’s
Center. Some of these programs have already
begun, but more programs will be coming. For
full details and registration, please visit
www.montgomerycollege.edu/youth. You can
check this site throughout the year, as more
programs are added. I will also advertise new
programs on the PTA listserve as they become
available. These programs have fees and
application deadlines.
3rd- 5th graders who have not had this screening
will be given the opportunity to be screened.
Also, teachers or parents can ask for 3rd–5th
graders to be rescreened. 3rd -5th graders being
screened will need parent permission. These
permission forms will be sent home in early
November. The screening involves a parent
questionnaire, a teacher questionnaire, a test,
reading level, etc. This screening will begin in
December, with the InView test, and will end in
the spring. Parents of students involved will
receive letters explaining the results of the
screening at the end of the process.
As we enter fall, I think of all of the special
activities that this time of year brings. I hope
that you and your family find ways to live
enriched lives.
Staff Development News
The next announcement is for parents of third
graders. MCPS has sent letters to each third
grade family about the Highly Gifted Centers.
“These centers are designed for students whose
academic needs for advanced instruction may
not easily be met in their local school.”
(Division of Accelerated and Enriched
Instruction) The deadline for applying to the
centers is November 7, 2014. Please mail the
forms to:
HGC Application
Division of Consortia Choice and
Application Program Services
11721 Kemp Mill Road
Silver Spring, Maryland 20902
There, the staff goes through each application
and makes the hard decisions of whom to invite
to the center programs. Parents and schools will
be notified of these decisions March 13, 2015,
by U.S. mail.
And last, here is information about the G/T
screening. In Montgomery County Public
Schools, all second graders are screened each
year to identify those, “whose performance,
motivation or potential ability indicates the need
for accelerated and/or enriched instruction.”
(Division of Accelerated and Enriched
Instruction) These are the students MCPS
identifies as Gifted and Talented (G/T). New
“Academic feedback is more strongly and
consistently related to achievement than any
other teaching behavior”. Bellon, Teaching from
a Research Base.
As parents and educators, we are always striving
to provide our students with feedback. You hear
it on the soccer fields, at social gatherings, and
in the classroom. Oral and written feedback is a
powerful teaching strategy. Research has shown
that feedback is most effective when it is
specific, timely, and corrective in nature. In the
classroom, we want to go beyond saying “good
job”. We want to provide specific feedback to
students to help then become aware of the skills
they are using, and to learn from errors they may
be making. Feedback for written work allows
students to tell more about the subject they are
learning about. For example, we might say,
“You have a good topic sentence that tells the
reader about your subject. You have factual and
interesting details that relate to your subject.
Now, you need to revise your conclusion so that
it connects back to your topic”. In fifth grade
this marking period, students are working on an
energy project on their Chromebooks. Their
teachers have been able to open their documents
during writer’s workshop and provide written
comments as the students develop their paper.
The students have enjoyed seeing the notes, but
most importantly, they are able to use the
comments to analyze their work and make
upgrades to their papers. Effective feedback can
be oral or written.
Another way that we are working together to
support student success is by collaborating with
one another to provide differentiated instruction.
One way that we differentiate is by product. This
refers to the ways that students use to
demonstrate what they have learned. Sometimes,
the product is a paper or quiz. Increasingly, the
product is a project, an informative poster, or
ideas discussed orally. These outcomes are
wonderful for your students because they give
them a chance to communicate in ways that best
match their learning style. Some students can
share their thinking best through discussion, by
reasoning with their peers. By providing more
than one way to show what they have learned,
we create opportunities for every child to shine.
Therefore, students will receive grades for their
mastery of learning objectives that do not
necessarily come home as a paper for you to
review. Teachers are working to capture the
reasoning and ideas of your students in various
ways.
- Karen Scarborough,
Staff Development Teacher
PARCC Nights are Coming!
Parents: If you have questions about the
Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for
College and Careers (PARCC) assessments
and Common Core State Standards, you
won’t want to miss upcoming PARCC
nights! Come learn about the assessments,
what they mean for your child, and
how MCPS is preparing students for success
on these new tests. You will be able to try
your hand at a PARCC test item or two and
pick up grade-level information and
resources.
The dates and locations are as follows:
Monday, November 24, 2014
Gaithersburg High School
101 Education Boulevard, Gaithersburg
6:30 p.m.—Resource Fair
7–9 p.m.—Program and Breakout Sessions
Monday, February 2, 2015
Montgomery Blair High School
51 University Boulevard East, Silver Spring
6:30 p.m.—Resource Fair
7–9 p.m.—Program and Breakout Sessions
For more information, visit the MCPS
website at www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org,
search “PARCC Nights,” or call 301-3096277.
PTA Insider – November 2014
UPCOMING EVENTS (November 2014)
Nov 10th & 11th(Mon, Tues): Early Release, 12:35pm dismissal
Nov 11th(Wednesday):
Jump Rope for the Heart, 12:35 pm
th
th
Nov 10 – 14 (Mon-Fri): Scholastic Book Fair, Ashburton Media Center
Nov 18th (Tuesday):
Dine out at California Tortilla
th
Nov 26 (Wednesday):
Early Release, 12:35pm dismissal, Thanksgiving Holiday
Nov 27th(Friday):
NO SCHOOL, Thanksgiving Holiday
News from our President and PTA Board
Dear Ashburton Families,
The Fall Festival last week was a resounding success! I’d like to thank our Fall Festival
Chairs, Amelia Risner-Butera, Alicia Burgos, Mariella Cacho, and Mary Roberts, who dedicated
so much time and energy to planning and running the event. And, I’d like to thank the many
parents who stepped forward to volunteer their time to make the event run smoothly. I also want
to thank our SSL student volunteers; Lauren Lynch and Wendy Calhoun for spirit wear; Chris
Calhoun for the Haunted Hallway; the teachers and staff who came back to school for this
evening event; the AES administration and Building Services team for helping us accomplish
this huge task and the many others who helped pull off this extraordinary event for our school
community. It truly could not have been as successful as it was without everyone’s help! The
kids and their families clearly had a wonderful evening because of all of your efforts. THANK
YOU!!
We’ve had a wonderful response to our PTA membership drive, surpassing our numbers from
last year! Thank you to everyone who has joined. You can join the PTA anytime online at
https://sites.google.com/site/ashburtonpta/home. We hope you have been able to take advantage
of the online directory. If you are a member and you haven’t received a login or if you need
some help using it, please contact Tom McCarty ([email protected]) or Jennifer Lewis
([email protected]). While non-members are included in the directory, they will not
have access to it as of October 31. However, if you decide to join the PTA after that date, we can
give you immediate access. For those of you who still want a printed directory, all members
who have joined as of 10/31 will receive a copy that we hope to distribute before Thanksgiving.
We have had two successful and well-attended dine outs this year - Ledo’s in September and
BGR in October. From these two dine outs, we made over $1000 that goes directly back to
Ashburton! A big thank you to all who supported these dine outs. As our school grows, so do
our crowds at these events. I want to take a minute to remind everyone that when you are at a
dine out, you are representing Ashburton. Please be mindful that we want to make these
fundraisers a positive experience not only for our community, but for the businesses we partner
with as well. Our next dine out is scheduled for November 18th at California Tortilla.
Get ready for our Scholastic Book Fair week, coming to the Media center Nov. 10th- 14th.
Information has been posted to the listserve regarding the book fair hours. The children look
forward to this fair every year as do the teachers and each class visits the book fair during school
hours. What a great way to take care of holiday gift-giving needs and encourage your child to
embrace reading! Please contact our Chairperson, Katrina Sukduang, at
[email protected] if you have any questions.
Another great event coming up on Dec. 5th is Camp Ashburton. This event has a limited
number of attendees, so if you want your kids to participate, don’t wait to sign up, because it
ALWAYS sells out. There will be a DJ, arts and crafts, plus games and food to make the night
especially fun. Look for more information, including registration, coming soon about this fun
evening.
Our next PTA Meeting is on Tuesday, Nov. 5th. We will have a guest speaker from the
College Savings Plans of Maryland to discuss 529 plans. We look forward to seeing you there!
Have Fun, Make Memories, Get Involved!
All the best,
Laura Chace
Ashburton PTA President on behalf of the PTA Board
PS – The best way to find out about all of the PTA's community events is to get on the school list serve. We’re a
green school, and try not to copy too many papers, so by being on the list-serve, and agreeing to receive this
monthly newsletter on-line, you support that value as well.
Did you know Ashburton has two listservs?
The first one is our PTA listserv, and the only information that will be sent out on this will have to do directly with
Ashburton or the PTA, our cluster (Ashburton ES is part of the Walter Johnson Cluster), the Montgomery County
Council of PTAs (MCCPTA) or Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). To subscribe to this PTA list-serve,
which only sends out information about school and PTA sponsored events and afterschool activities, please
send an email to: [email protected].
The second is the Ashburton Community listserv, which was started to allow the Ashburton community to share
information about events and issues that are of interest to Ashburton students and parents, but are not related to PTA
or school-sponsored activities (e.g., sports teams, carpools, babysitting, yard sales, community events, etc.). The
Ashburton ES Community “discussion listserv” is a forum for the school community on issues that affect
elementary school children. The opinions posted do not reflect the official position of Ashburton PTA or MCCPTA;
they reflect the opinions of individuals and should not be interpreted or published outside of this forum as the
official position of any local PTA/PTSA or MCCPTA. Please follow these guidelines when using the discussion
listserv:
· Messages should be posted directly to [email protected] and include your name.
· Refrain from making negative comments about individuals by name.
· Private matters such as discussions about a particular child(ren) or adult(s) are not appropriate on this listserv.
· Disagree in a friendly and respectful manner; email feels like a private discussion, but it is not.
· If you abuse your listserv privileges you will be given one warning then removed permanently, should the abuse
continue.
To subscribe to the Ashburton Community listserv, which has information for and from the overall community,
please send an email to: [email protected]